BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

BlazBlue is a traditional 2D fighting game where two characters participate in a duel. A round is called a "rebel" and one match can consist of one to five "rebels". To win a round, one player must either defeat the other by inflicting damage through various attacks to reduce their opponent's health to zero or by having more remaining health than their opponent within the time limit.

Every character has a weak, medium, and strong attack, as well as a "unique" technique, called a Drive attack, which is different for each character. Those attacks are also known as "A", "B", "C", and "D". Various combos can be performed by every character through careful input of regular and Drive attacks. A combo consists of two or more consecutive attacks that hit an opponent without them retaliating.

Before the events of the game, humanity was on the verge of extinction from a creature called the "Black Beast." The world was saved by six heroes who wielded magic. They helped humanity create "Ars Magus", a fusion of magic and science, to defeat the Black Beast. This event would be later known as the First War of Magic.

After the war, the Novus Orbis Librarium (also referred to as "The Library" or the "NOL") was created to govern the world with the use of Ars Magus. A great deal of dissent was caused by the Library, partly due to Ars Magus' use in nearly every facet of society, and the widening socioeconomic gap between those who could and couldn't use Ars Magus. This dissent would eventually form years later into the Second War of Magic, also known as the Ikaruga Civil War, when the city of Ikaruga openly rebelled against the NOL. Upon winning the war, the NOL imposed a harsher rule on the world, punishing any rebellion against the NOL with death.

The console versions have received positive reviews, with scores of 87/100 and 86/100 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively on Metacritic. Praise has been given for the depth of gameplay in spite of a comparatively small roster as well as an excellent online component. The game's plot has also been well-received, many reviews noting it as well-conceived and exceptional amidst the often lackluster and convoluted stories that the fighting game genre has.

Both console versions of the game debuted in the top ten of Japanese sales charts during their week of release. The PlayStation 3 version entered at number five with 33,768 units sold and the Xbox 360 entered at number 6 with 24,812 units sold. Media Create included both versions in their top 500 software sales for 2009 at 57,796 and 36,065 units respectively. In 2009, BlazBlue was nominated for a Spike Fighting Game of the Year award but lost to Street Fighter IV.